The Memphis Grizzlies franchise, one that spent its first six years of existence in Vancouver, is one of the youngest in the NBA. In addition to being one of the youngest, they're also one of the least accomplished, making it out of the first round of the playoffs for a grand total of just four times in their 28 years of existence to this point. In fact, in their first three playoff appearances in franchise history, they failed to win a single game — waiting until 2011 to do so.
Nonetheless, the Grizzlies, at the moment, have one of the best young cores in the NBA — that is, of course, if Ja Morant rights the ship of his troubled off-court life. There's a chance for the Grizzlies teams of the 2020s to fill out the franchise's list of its greatest teams, but for now, here are the 10 best iterations of the franchise most known for its grit and grind identity.
10. 2020-21
Back in 2020, only three years have passed since the Grizzlies decided to hit the reset button, effectively ending their Grit and Grind era. But by then, it was apparent that the Grizzlies were on the come up, thanks in large part to their incredible draft haul in 2018 and 2019, selecting the likes of Jaren Jackson Jr., and Ja Morant to serve as the cornerstones of their upstart squad.
And in 2020, the Grizzlies began reaping the fruits of nailing the draft. They overcame the play-in tournament hump this time around, avenging their defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers in the bubble. What ensued was a competitive first-round series against the Utah Jazz, the team that had the best record in the NBA during that year.
Despite falling short to the Jazz in five games, this season cemented the notion that the Grizzlies franchise was on a steep upward trajectory.
9. 2003-04
Expansion teams in any sport are usually putrid. Every expansion team wants to be the 2017-18 Vegas Golden Knights, but most times they end up being the Grizzlies from 1995 to 2003. During that period, the Grizzlies won a whoppingly bad 28 percent of their games. Thankfully, in the NBA, the worse a team is, the better their chances of getting better through the draft are. And in 2003, the Grizzlies finally turned things around.
Behind a deep team led by Pau Gasol, James Posey, Mike Miller, Jason Williams, and Bonzi Wells (not to mention Shane Battier), the Grizzlies won 50 games, earning them the sixth seed in the Western Conference. But as is the case for plenty of Western Conference teams, the Grizzlies were often a casualty of the San Antonio Spurs' reign of terror. The Spurs swept them in 2004 — although given how the teams' best players were just approaching their primes at this point, there was hope that things were only going to get better for them from there.
8. 2005-06
Nothing is guaranteed in the NBA. The Grizzlies, despite having a young Pau Gasol, didn't take the next step to contention in the coming years. That was the unfortunate reality for the middle of the pack playoff teams in the West in the 2000s; if the team didn't have a player of Tim Duncan's, Kobe Bryant's, and Dirk Nowitzki's calibers, more likely than not they'll be nothing more than first-round fodders for the true powerhouses.
With all due respect, Gasol was a tier below those players, so in the end, the Grizzlies of the early 2000s were just a cobblestone on their contemporaries' road to success. In 2006, the Grizzlies were on the receiving end of yet another sweep, this time to eventual runner-up Dallas Mavericks.
7. 2016-17
In terms of regular season performance, there was nothing convincing about anything the 2016-17 Grizzlies did. Zach Randolph, one of the pillars of the Grizzlies over the past seven years, declined to the point of losing his starting spot to JaMychal Green, and the necessity of utilizing floor spacers more often made Tony Allen difficult to play in crucial moments (especially when trailing).
As a result, the Grizzlies won just 43 games, earning them the seventh seed in the West in 2017. However, even as they faced the 61-win Spurs team led by Kawhi Leonard in arguably his best overall season ever as a professional, the Grizzlies put up a fight. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol did everything they could to upset the Spurs once more. Conley, in particular, had an incredible Game 4 performance, outdueling Leonard to tie up the series at two apiece.
But in the end, the Spurs were just a more talented team, taking care of business in Games 5 and 6. Nevertheless, that should not take away from the fact that these Grizzlies gave the Spurs some trouble in way they couldn't to their playoff opponents in the previous entries on this list.
6. 2022-23
The 2022-23 Grizzlies arguably may have had the most topsy-turvy season in franchise history. At full strength, the Grizzlies were unequivocally one of the best teams in the league. But off-court troubles put a damper on their season, preventing them from truly challenging the Denver Nuggets for the one-seed in the Western Conference. Ja Morant's stock fell off after multiple incidents of troubling behavior, ranging from bullying an employee in a mall, and brandishing a gun on Instagram live.
What began as one of the best seasons in franchise history quickly turned sour, and the Grizzlies ended up exiting the 2023 playoffs in a crushing manner. Despite being the two-seed, they ended up losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. And to make matters worse, they lost Game 6 by 40 points, putting a merciful end to their doomed season.
But in the end, this team won 51 games in a loaded West, and if it weren't for Ja Morant's inability to stay out of trouble, they may have had a shot at mounting a deep postseason run.
5. 2013-14
The 2014 Grizzlies, despite still being in the middle of their Grit and Grind era, made a concerted effort to add more shooters, helping space the floor for the high-low duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. They acquired Courtney Lee and Mike Miller to give the team more weapons on the wing.
However, the Grizzlies still had difficulties spacing the floor, and they ran into an Oklahoma City Thunder team that was eager to avenge their playoff defeat last season. With Russell Westbrook now available, the Grizzlies found the Thunder matchup to be a lot more difficult, eking out three wins with a average margin of victory of 3.33.
In the end, despite going up 3-2, the Thunder won Games 6 and 7 by double figures, thereby completing their revenge arc on the Grizzlies.
4. 2010-11
The 2011 Grizzlies won just 46 games, which is the second-worst total on this list. But unlike most teams in franchise history, this one actually made it out of the first round. And they did so as the eight-seed, avenging their first-round exit to the Spurs in 2004 in resounding fashion. In fact, the Grizzlies made fans and critics question whether it was the beginning of the end for the Tim Duncan-led dynasty.
In 2011, Zach Randolph was a beast, finally figuring it out after years of treading water with the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 20 and 12, and along with Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies had two reliable scorers. Meanwhile, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, despite not being at their best yet, were rock solid at the spine of the team, while Tony Allen finally broke through in a starting role after establishing himself as the perfect encapsulation of what made the team so successful during this period.
3. 2021-22
Like in 2015, the Grizzlies put up a hell of a fight in the playoffs against a Warriors team that would eventually win the championship. Ja Morant and company wanted all the smoke with the Dubs and they got it, eliciting a major fight from the veteran squad with championship pedigree that spilled over to the following season.
But this team, despite winning 51 games, wasn't exactly convincing come postseason time. On multiple occasions, it looked as if the Grizzlies were going to exit the playoffs in the first round, as the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed to have their number, only for them to choke when it mattered the most. But this season proved once again that these Grizzlies are here to stay.
2. 2014-15
Going up against the Stephen Curry-led, Steve Kerr-coached Golden State Warriors side is never an easy task. But in 2015, the Grizzlies showed that the 67-win Warriors weren't yet the infallible team they would become in the coming years. With the Grit and Grind mentality still in full effect, the Grizzlies took a 2-1 series lead over the Dubs in the second round, with Tony Allen wreaking havoc on the defensive end, proclaiming that he was worthy of being named to the All-Defensive First Team.
Alas, the Grizzlies' lack of spacing soon haunted them, as the Dubs put Andrew Bogut on Allen. This, in turn, allowed Bogut to play free roam on defense, packing the paint to prevent Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph from being too comfortable. The Grizzlies then lost the final three games of the series by an average margin of 16.7 points. Such is the story of this Grizzlies era of basketball, defined by an inability to keep up with the burgeoning three-point revolution.
1. 2012-13
The only team in franchise history thus far that made the Western Conference Finals, only the 2013 Grizzlies were in contention for the top spot on this list. Trading away Rudy Gay for what looked like spare parts seemed confounding for some, but the Grizzlies ended up being better off with Tayshaun Prince in Gay's place as it allowed the Grizzlies to feature both Marc Gasol and Mike Conley more on offense alongside Zach Randolph.
Circumstances may have played a huge part in the Grizzlies' advancement into the WCF, but injury luck is a part of the game. A team can only play the team that's in front of them. The 2013 Grizzlies made the most out of their opportunity, just running into the buzzsaw that was the 2013 Spurs, a team that was more talented from top to bottom.
Follow Us
Subscribe